Isaksson's 17‐10½ Pole Vault Sets Mark

At 12:07 Saturday morning, before hushed remnants of a large crowd at Madison Square, Garden, Kiel Isaksson cleared; 17 feet 10½ inches in the pole vault, a world indoor record! and the highest vault ever in the United States.

The 23‐year‐old Swede, who set the world indoor standard of 17‐9 last year in Cleveland, equaled the third highest vault, indoors or outdoors, on his second attempt at that height during the Amateur Athletic Union indoor track and field championships.

With the crowd shouting encouragement and urging him to attempt an 18‐foot vault, the 5‐foot‐7‐inch Isaksson asked meet officials to raise the crossbar to a world‐record height, 18 feet ½ inch.

Only one other athlete, Chris Papanicolau of Greece, has cleared 18 feet (18‐¼. Papanicolaou's jump came two summers ago in Athens. Wolfgang Nordwig of East Germany cleared 17‐11 in Turin, Italy.

Isaksson, his long blond hair flapping down the runway, made three attempts at 18‐½. But the physical strain of four hours of competition and earlier clearances at 17‐4, 17‐8 and 17‐10½ took its toll, and he never reached the crossbar on any of the 18‐foot attempts.

Isaksson's performance led one of the finest exhibitions of indoor vaulting. Four athletes cleared 17 feet, and Hans Lagerqvist, Isaksson's countryman, and Steve Smith each cleared 17‐4.

It cost A.A.U. officials 90minutes in overtime rental fees to the Garden for Isaksson's prolonged exhibition. But to many who had never seen an athlete chase the 18‐foot barrier, the wait was worth it.

“I would have been satisfied with 17‐4,” said Isaksson, who will be 24 years old on Monday and failed to clear the opening height (16‐6) in a recent meet at San Diego. “I was just too tired at 18, and I felt it in my legs.”

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A version of this archives appears in print on February 27, 1972, on Page S2 of the New York edition with the headline: Isaksson's 17‐10½ Pole Vault Sets Mark. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe